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copperplate

American  
[kop-er-playt] / ˈkɒp ərˌpleɪt /

noun

  1. a plate of polished copper on which a writing, picture, or design is made by engraving or etching.

  2. a print or impression from such a plate.

  3. engraving or printing of this kind.

  4. a fine, elegant style of handwriting.


copperplate British  
/ ˈkɒpəˌpleɪt /

noun

  1. a polished copper plate on which a design has been etched or engraved

  2. a print taken from such a plate

  3. a fine handwriting based upon that used on copperplate engravings

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of copperplate

First recorded in 1655–65; copper 1 + plate 1


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Screenings at the Yale University Art Gallery are accompanied by an exhibition of copperplate engravings, experimental electroplated copper reliefs and massive sculptures cast from burned-out trees.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2019

Engraving demanded physical strength to cut the surface of the copperplate; etching, the use of hazardous nitric acid to dissolve away the metal.

From Nature ● Oct. 8, 2018

By the Middle Ages myriad handwriting styles arose, including German black letter, Italian round gothic, italic and copperplate.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 5, 2017

Most fatefully, it also clearly appears on the 1823 copperplate created by the engraver William Stone to replicate the original parchment, which was already fading.

From New York Times ● Jul. 2, 2014

Jack’s straight-backed, brown-ink copperplate told her to assume a multiplier of fifty.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

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